


Bechloe Week 2020 - Day 6 - Hospital - Megan Gets Her Tonsils Out

by Another Bechloe Shipper (AmyP91402)



Series: Bechloe Week 2020 [6]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Autism, Autism Spectrum, Bechloe Week, Bechloe Week 2020, F/F, Hospitals, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25628962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyP91402/pseuds/Another%20Bechloe%20Shipper
Summary: From the Music Therapist Universe.  Beca and Chloe's daughter Megan gets her tonsils out.
Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Series: Bechloe Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849540
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Bechloe Week 2020 - Day 6 - Hospital - Megan Gets Her Tonsils Out

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Not for the squeamish

“Mommy? Mama?” Beca and Chloe woke to hear their ten-year-old daughter Megan knocking on their bedroom door, her voice croaking.

Chloe opened the door. “What’s wrong, Megan?”

“My throat,” she whined.

Chloe put her hand on her daughter’s head. “You feel warm, honey.”

Beca was already on her feet, headed toward the bathroom to get the thermometer. Megan lifted her arm for the thermometer. She couldn’t stand the idea of a thermometer being placed under her tongue.

They waited a few seconds to hear the thermometer beep quickly and light up red, indicating a high fever. “101,” said Beca. “So, that’s really 102?”

Chloe nodded and grabbed a penlight out of her medical bag. “Open wide,” she said, wincing when she saw her daughter’s throat. “I’m pretty sure it’s strep again.”

“I’ll get her some medicine,” said Beca. She grabbed the liquid children’s pain reliever and dosed it.

Megan took the medicine and made a face. “Have some water,” Chloe said.

“Can I sleep with you?” asked Megan, after she’d drunk enough water to get rid of the taste of the medicine.

“Of course,” said Beca. She was glad that the house they’d purchased the year before had a big enough master bedroom for them to upgrade to a king-sized bed. Megan was nearly the same height and weight as her Mama, and there was no way they’d be able to all share a bed otherwise. This was at least the fifth time Megan had caught strep throat this fall, and she frequently wanted to sleep with her moms when she didn’t feel well.

Megan settled between her moms and was soon asleep. Beca and Chloe, however, spent the night tossing and turning with a blazing inferno of a child between them.

* * *

The next morning, Beca texted a few of her coworkers and managed to get them to cover the day’s cases for her. Chloe had a full schedule of patients ahead, and she’d been the last one to take the day off to spend when Megan got sick.

Beca trudged into the kitchen, thankful that Chloe had just poured her some coffee. “Ugh, Chloe, this has to stop. We can’t keep taking off of work, and Megan is missing so much school. Can’t you just write her a script?”

“Beca, you know I can’t,” said Chloe. “Take her to the walk-in hours at the pediatrician, and I’ll get her an appointment with the ENT as soon as I can. The one who did her ear tubes works in my building.”

“I know,” grumbled Beca. “I know you can’t write her a script. I’m just tired. And I really hope she didn’t share it with me.”

The twins came running into the kitchen, followed by their dog Treble, causing Beca to groan even louder and put her head down.

“Quiet, you two,” said Chloe. “Mama’s tired.”

“What’s wrong, Mama?” asked Tony, his face full of concern.

“Megan is sick,” said Beca.

“Oh, no!” exclaimed Ricky. “Go away, germs!”

“Too loud there, buddy,” said Chloe.

“Sorry, Mommy,” whispered Ricky.

“Now, what do you two want for breakfast?” asked Chloe.

“Lucky Charms!” the boys screamed in unison.

“Boys!” Beca scolded.

“Please keep your voices down,” Chloe corrected them gently. “Now, who wants juice?”

“Orange,” said Tony.

“Apple,” said Ricky.

Just as Chloe was pouring their drinks, Megan padded into the room. She looked pale and sleepy.

“Hey, baby girl,” said Beca. “How are you feeling?”

“A little better,” said Megan. “But not that much.”

“Do you want some breakfast?” asked Beca.

“No,” said Megan.

“Drink something,” said Chloe.

“No!” yelled Megan. She immediately put her hands on her neck and began to sob.

“Honey, don’t yell,” said Chloe. “You’ll make your throat worse.”

Megan walked over to Beca and tried to sit in her lap. “Mama…”

Beca scooted her chair back and let Megan climb onto her, even though she was way too big to curl up like she’d done when she was younger. She rubbed the girl’s back soothingly.

Chloe brought their daughter a drinkable yogurt. “Here.”

Beca picked up the drink and placed the straw near their daughter’s mouth. She drank it, and it seemed to help.

Once Megan finished her drink, Beca said, “Let’s go get dressed. I’m going to take you to Dr. Robbins and have her look at your throat.”

Megan whined and wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck. “No, Mama.”

“I know, sweetie, but we need to see her so you can get medicine.”

“Come on,” said Chloe, picking up her daughter and setting her on her feet. She led her out of the kitchen toward her bedroom, presumably to help her get dressed.

The twins watched the whole thing in silence. They’d become used to their older sister being sick and miserable.

“Okay, you two,” she said. “You need to get dressed. Mommy is going to take you to school. Mama is taking Megan to the doctor.” The school was actually a daycare with a preschool curriculum, but the boys didn’t know that. They’d been so jealous that their big sister was at school that their moms had just started calling their daycare program a school.

“Yay!” the boys cheered as they headed for their bedroom. Usually, Mama took them to school, so they were excited about the change.

Chloe brought Megan into the kitchen, dressed and ready to go, shortly after Beca had finished loading the last of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. “I’ll let Treble out,” she said. The dog bounded after her upon hearing his name.

“Right on time,” said Beca, checking the time on her cell phone. “Let’s head to the doctor’s office. If you’re good, maybe I’ll get you some ice cream when we get home.”

Beca gave her wife a kiss and then poked her head into the twins’ room and wished them goodbye before heading to the pediatrician’s office.

“Remember, Megan, don’t touch anything in the waiting room, okay?”

“Why?” asked Megan.

“Because you might get sick.”

“Mama, I’m already sick!”

“You could get different germs,” said Beca.

“Oh, okay. I won’t touch.”

Beca signed Megan in, relieved that the girl had remembered not to touch any of the toys or books. She pulled up an app on her phone to let Megan watch videos while she waited for her turn.

When it was her turn, it took Beca and two medical assistants to hold Megan down for the strep swab. Megan was hysterical and screaming by the time it was done. “I don’t like it, Mama,” she repeated while sobbing into her Mama’s shoulder.

“I know, honey, but the doctor needs to know what germs are in your throat.”

“Mommy said it’s strep.”

“Mommy was making a good guess.”

Beca distracted her daughter with the video app again. Ten minutes later, the pediatrician came in. “It’s strep,” she said. “Is that the fifth time this season?”

“I think so,” said Beca. She yawned. “Chloe wants her to go back to the ENT. We can’t keep doing this.”

“I agree,” said Dr. Robbins. “It might be time to get those tonsils out. Should I send the prescription downstairs?”

“Please do,” said Beca.

“Okay,” said Dr. Robbins. She turned to Megan. “You’re all done. Mama is going to get your medicine.”

“Okay,” said Megan, quietly.

“Any other questions for me?” asked Dr. Robbins.

“I don’t think so,” said Beca.

“Take care and have a good day,” she said. She turned to Megan. “I hope you feel better. If something hurts, you tell your moms, okay?”

Megan nodded.

Beca headed down to the pharmacy on the floor below the pediatrician’s office. “I’m here for Megan Beale’s prescription,” she told the pharmacist.

“It’s ready. Strep again?” she asked.

“Unfortunately.”

“Here you go,” she said.

Beca felt so bad for her pitiful-looking daughter that she let her have soft-serve ice cream on the way home, even though she’d thrown a fit about getting a strep swab. She couldn’t blame her daughter for having a fit. Beca herself didn’t like strep tests either, and she’d caught strep from Megan at least twice that season. By some miracle, Megan had somehow managed not to pass strep onto either of the twins.

* * *

Beca got Megan settled with her ice cream, so she texted her wife to update her.

 _B: Strep again  
_ _C: I figured  
_ _C: The ENT can see her tomorrow  
_ _B: Great_

This was perfect because the next day was Friday, and Megan wouldn’t be back at school yet. She still had a fever, and she had to be fever-free for twenty-four hours without medicine. Chloe still had Fridays off, so Beca was glad things had worked out so nicely.

She texted her coworkers to check on her clients, glad that the day’s caseload was almost entirely children. Other parents were far more understanding of Beca having to stay home with a sick child than a lot of other clients. Luckily, things had been going pretty well. Jessica had returned to work a few weeks ago after having her second baby. Aubrey had been taking over a lot of Jessica’s cases while she was on leave, so she’d been able to cover a lot of Beca’s cases that day. Beca had passed Benji onto Flo that day, and he had been thrilled to have a music therapist who understood Pokemon, at least somewhat.

Megan spent most of the day moping and whining. Beca managed to get Megan to take a nap, and she ended up taking one herself. Megan’s fever broke by dinner time, and Beca was glad that Chloe had brought home a few pizzas after picking up the twins from daycare.

* * *

The two moms found themselves in bed just after they’d gotten Megan down for the night. She’d improved a lot once her fever had broken, but she had been looking winded by the time the twins were ready for bed. Chloe had given her the antibiotics and some pain reliever and put her to bed as Beca was reading the twins a bedtime story.

“Who knew we’d be in bed by 9:00?” asked Beca, snuggling up to Chloe.

“Just about any parent,” said Chloe.

“What is the ENT going to do?” asked Beca.

“Ask some questions, examine her, check her records,” said Chloe. “But, chances are, she’s going to tell us she needs her tonsils out.”

“That’s what Dr. Robbins said.”

“She’s missed so much school this year, and we’ve missed so much work. Are you okay with it if that’s what she recommends?”

“I guess so,” said Beca. “I was just telling Dr. Robbins that we can’t keep living like this.”

“I agree. Let’s get some sleep.”

* * *

The next morning, the two moms were glad they’d gotten a good night’s sleep. Megan woke up and was chattering away in her room.

“What should Megan wear? Choose a shirt for Megan to wear and click on it,” she said.

Beca chuckled. Megan had been playing on the Sesame Street website again and was scripting from a game where the player dresses Elmo for the weather.

“Hey, Megan. Do you need help?” she asked.

“Choose a shirt for Megan to wear and click on it,” Megan said again. She was walking around the room in circles, a shirt in each hand, flapping her hands (making the shirts wave) and humming.

“Okay, kid, what did you choose?”

Megan handed Beca the shirts. One had short sleeves, and one had long sleeves.

“Oh, you don’t know the weather?” asked Beca.

“Click,” Megan said, pointing to the shirts Beca had laid on the bed.

Beca pulled out her phone and loaded an app to help her choose. She showed her daughter the app, and she walked over to the long-sleeved shirt and said “click” as she put it over her head.

Beca opened Megan’s drawer and scripted back at her. “Choose pants for Megan to wear and click,” she said.

Megan pointed to a pair of leggings and said, “click.”

Beca and Chloe had learned that listening to Megan’s script was actually a pretty good indicator of what she was trying to communicate. She frequently repeated this script when she was choosing clothing to wear.

“Let’s get some breakfast,” said Beca.

“Eggs and toast?” asked Megan.

Beca checked the time. “That’s up to Mommy. I have to work.”

“No work, Mama.”

“I know, kiddo, but I have to. Mommy will stay with you today.”

“Mama will be home tomorrow,” said Megan.

“Yes, tomorrow is Saturday.”

“Aubrey?” asked Megan. Aubrey was still working as Megan’s music therapist, even though she’d had to change to Saturdays once Megan began kindergarten.

“Do you want Aubrey to come over tomorrow?” asked Beca.

“Yes,” said Megan.

“How is your throat?” she asked.

“All better,” said Megan.

“Okay, I’ll ask Aubrey to come over on Saturday as long as you don’t have a fever.”

“Check,” Megan said, pointing toward the bathroom.

Beca took Megan’s temperature, pleased to see her fever was still gone. “Okay, no more fever. Aubrey can come over tomorrow.”

Megan clapped her hands.

They walked into the kitchen, and Megan asked Chloe, “Eggs and toast?”

“Sure, Megan.”

Ricky and Tony walked in, Treble bounding in behind them as usual.

“Mama, Treble made a BIG poop!” Ricky declared proudly.

“I’m glad you let him out, but please don’t talk about potty stuff at the table,” said Beca.

“But I’m not at the table,” said Ricky.

“Well, not while people are eating.”

“Nobody is eating,” said Ricky.

Beca pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine, not in the kitchen or dining room.”

“Okay, Mama,” said Ricky while Tony nodded.

“Who wants eggs?” asked Chloe.

“We do!” yelled the twins.

Chloe cracked a few more eggs into the bowl and grabbed the big frying pan. Megan put bread in the toaster for herself while the twins grabbed some mini-muffins.

There was relative silence at the table once everyone was eating.

Beca kissed her wife and daughter goodbye as she left with the twins. She walked Ricky into his classroom, giving him a high five as she left. She walked Tony to his classroom, making sure to give him two hugs. He was the more sensitive of the two boys, and he was always just a little reluctant to leave his moms in the morning. He did a little better when Chloe dropped him off, but not much.

“Bye, Mama,” Tony said, his lower lip starting to quiver.

“Come here, T,” said Beca. “Three hugs today, dude?”

Tony nodded and walked toward Beca’s outstretched arms.

“Okay, T. Have a great day!”

Tony started tearing up again, but his favorite teacher, Ms. CR, took his hand and led him to the playdough. “Hey, buddy. Why don’t we make something fun? Do you know how to make a dinosaur?”

Tony instantly perked up and began to chatter away about dinosaurs while Beca made her escape.

* * *

Beca got a text from Chloe to call her when she had five minutes to talk. She took a few extra minutes before her weekly lunch meeting to call her.

“So, how did it go?” asked Beca.

“Pretty much what I expected. Her tonsils are coming out.”

“Okay, when do we want to do this?”

“They were able to get her scheduled in a few weeks, between Christmas and New Year’s.”

“I guess that’s fine,” said Beca. “She won’t miss as much school that way, and we won’t have to take off of work as much.”

“Good, because I have her scheduled for December 30. I can change it if you want.”

“December 30 is fine. I’ll see if my dad and Sheila want to take the boys overnight.”

* * *

On the evening of December 29, Beca dropped off two very excited boys at her dad’s. Her stepsister Emily came over to help. The boys were so excited to see their grandparents and aunt that they barely said goodbye to their mothers and sister.

Beca and Chloe took Megan out for pizza, knowing solid food was going to be difficult for her. Megan relished the extra attention from her mothers. She began singing a song Aubrey had written to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell” about getting her tonsils out, and her mothers were relieved the restaurant wasn’t busy.

 _My tonsils are so sick  
_ _My tonsils are so sick  
_ _The doctor’s going to take them out  
_ _My tonsils are so sick_

 _I’m going to go to sleep  
_ _I’m going to go to sleep  
_ _The doctor takes my tonsils out  
_ _But I will be asleep_

 _I’m going to eat ice cream  
_ _I’m going to eat ice cream  
_ _I’ll eat it until my throat feels good  
_ _I’m going to eat ice cream_

* * *

Beca and Chloe got up around 5 the morning of the surgery. They had to have Megan at the hospital by 6:30, and she couldn’t eat anything. They ate a quick breakfast and had some coffee before waking Megan for the hospital. They let her keep her pajamas on, only making her visit the bathroom before getting into the car.

Megan was running a low-grade fever when they got there. The nurse doing her intake asked her if anything hurt, but Megan simply said, “My tonsils.”

The doctor decided to go ahead with the surgery. Beca and Chloe barely had enough time to worry before the doctor was already in the waiting room telling them that Megan had come through just fine. She said that her tonsils were huge and had been a little more difficult than she’d originally thought to remove, so they’d absolutely made the right choice to have them removed. Recovery was going to be a little tougher, but nothing too crazy. She could definitely go home with them shortly.

Megan spent a good amount of time in the recovery room sleeping on and off. She refused the popsicle, only agreeing on cold water. The first cup had ice, so she refused that as well

Once she seemed awake enough and had used the bathroom, they sent the family home. Beca and Chloe picked up the boys on the way home, and Beca sent a mass text to family and friends reporting that Megan was fine and recovering at home.

Megan did very well that afternoon and evening. She was even eating macaroni and cheese by dinner time. Her moms were shocked at how quickly she’d seemed to be feeling better.

* * *

The next morning, however, was a completely different story. She woke up her moms, barely able to croak the word “help.” Chloe said, “Oh, no! We forgot to set an alarm for her pain medicine!”

“Mommy…” Megan’s voice was nearly inaudible. Chloe immediately gave her a dose of pain medicine, and Megan made a face after swallowing.

Beca coaxed Megan into eating a few spoonfuls of applesauce before she pushed it away. She even offered ice cream, and Megan didn’t want that either.

Megan spent the rest of the day looking miserable, and barely eating or drinking. By the evening, she’d begun coughing up tiny amounts of blood. Beca paged the on-call physician, who assured her she had nothing to worry about.

This ended up being wrong, though. Just as the moms were about to give Megan some pain medication and put her to bed, Megan ran to the bathroom and began to projectile vomit blood. The bathroom looked like something out of a horror movie, and both Beca and Megan were crying by the end of it. Even the twins came up to see what had happened, but Beca managed to redirect them before they saw the bathroom.

Beca paged the on-call physician, cleaned Megan up, and helped her change her clothes while she waited to hear back. Chloe was in the bathroom cleaning up the aftermath.

The on-call physician told them she’d meet them in the emergency room. Beca called her dad and Sheila, surprised when Emily canceled her New Year’s Eve plans to come over and stay with the boys.

“Em, you don’t have to.”

“Stop it,” Emily said. “She’s my niece, and they’re my nephews. There will be other New Year’s celebrations.”

They headed to the emergency room, and Chloe had to tell the staff members there several times that she was “Megan Beale’s mom” that night, rather than “Nurse Beale.”

They didn’t have to wait, just as the on-call physician had promised. She’d spoken with the ENT who’d done Megan’s surgery, and Chloe was familiar with the woman. They signed consent forms to put Megan under anesthesia again, and soon she was whisked back for another surgery.

The doctor came back quickly and reported that she’d been able to cauterize the wounds and pump Megan’s stomach. They’d done the right thing paging her because she’d probably have spent the entire night vomiting blood. Megan was also very dehydrated, so she made sure she had some IV fluids. She was still running a fever, so she’d also prescribed some antibiotics. They’d be able to take her home again that evening.

Megan was awake and sipping water when her moms came back to see her.

“Mommy! Mama!” Megan exclaimed.

“Ssssh...rest your voice, baby,” said Chloe.

“I’m not a baby,” said Megan.

“Right,” said Chloe.

Megan was discharged soon after this, and Chloe and Beca made sure to set their alarms for Megan’s medication before leaving the hospital.

They got home at 11:50 pm, just barely in time to see the ball drop. Emily was awake and watching a New Year’s Eve special on TV, so they all toasted the new year with her.

Just after midnight, Emily headed home, and Beca and Chloe headed to bed.

“Well, this is a New Year’s Eve we’ll never forget,” said Beca.

“Yeah,” said Chloe. “I feel so bad. It’s all my fault. I’m a medical professional. I should have made absolutely sure we woke her up for her medicine and forced fluids.”

“Chloe, you’re her mom, not her doctor. We both should have woken her up and forced fluids. I certainly heard the same speech about her recovery as you did. Now, let’s get some sleep. We have three hours before we have to wake her up.”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Chloe, snuggling up to her wife.

* * *

Megan still looked pretty rough the next day. They took turns pushing Megan to take a sip of water or have a spoonful of applesauce every twenty minutes. They felt bad bothering her, but neither one wanted to end up in the hospital again with her. Even the twins seemed to understand that their older sister wasn’t feeling well, so they’d spent the day playing quietly in their room.

* * *

The next morning, Beca and Chloe found their daughter sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a yogurt drink. Both the doctor who’d performed the tonsillectomy and the doctor who had taken care of the follow-up surgery called to check on Megan. Beca and Chloe were pleased to report that Megan was on the mend.

* * *

Megan slowly got better as the days went on, and everyone was relieved when she was given the go-ahead to return to school, just under two weeks after her surgery.


End file.
